The art of laughter
by Mr Squidgereen
Summary: Based on an actual myth from Norse Mythology, featuring Gabriel as Loki. To make up for the death of the giantess Skaði's father, Gabriel has to make her laugh, by any means necessary. Rated M for future chapters.


**Prompt by morganasarmy: **Re-telling of any story from Norse mythology featuring Gabriel as Loki.

**Notes:** The prompt appealed to the norse mythology geek in me. This is my take on the myth where Loki (aka, Gabriel) tries to make the giantess Skaði laugh.

* * *

"You slayed my father!" Skaði's accusing voice boomed through the halls, several members of the allfather's council shying away in fear of the enraged giantess as she flew up from her seat.

The allfather himself, however, would not be intimidated by her anger. This was far from the first time he'd had to deal with her horrible temper. He remained calm and motioned for her to sit down again - when she refused, he rubbed his temple with a sigh.

"Thiazi was a trespasser and a thief. His death was regrettable, but just."

Skaði slammed her fists against the table, nostrils flaring and face flushing a deep red. "The apples do not belong to you, asgardian! We found them—"

A snort could be heard from the back of the room.

"—They are ours!" She continued, ignoring the interruption. "You can not sentence a man to death for taking back what is rightfully his!"

"The apples belong to Iðunn—"

"The apples belong to us!"

This went on for another agonizing hour; Skaði kept steadily raising her voice as if she'd get her was if she just shouted lout enough, while Odin forced himself to remain collected, although his body was tense and lips pressed into a thin line on his face. The council muttered hushed words between themselves and shaked their heads. Their argument were going in circles. At this rate, they'd be lucky if either of them could get their desired results before the next winter's end.

From the shadows, Baldr was watching the scene with disapproving eyes. His arms were crossed over his bare chest and his face twisted into a frown. The meeting was taking a turn for the worse - as he had expected - but he was not allowed to interfere. Could do nothing but play the role of a bystander while harsh words and threats of conflict between the two species were being exchanged before his eyes.

"I don't like this."

Leaning against the pillar next to him was a short, slightly older man, clad in a simple dark green outfit with a wolf's fur draped over his shoulders and a number of odd looking feathers hanging from the leather belt around his waist. A waist which told the tale of one too many sweets consumed. In his hands, the man was toying with a golden apple, and only stopped to glance over his shoulder at the younger god.

"Geez. Is there anything you like nowadays, kiddo?" Gabriel gave Baldr a pointed look when he recieved a glare in response. "Just saying. So much for the whole 'peace-loving hippie' thing you've got going on."

"'Hippie'…?" Baldr's frown deepened with confusion.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Don't think too much about it, sweet cheeks."

The older god threw the apple up in the air, caught it again and repeated the action twice more, throwing it higher each time. On the third throw, Baldr reached out and snatched the apple in his stead.

"Would you stop that?" He hissed, careful to keep his voice down as Odin and Skaði had fallen silent. "The least thing we need right now is for you to smash this."

Gabriel huffed at the other who'd turned his head away - still holding on to the golden apple, refusing to let him play with it - to watch the meeting again. "Someone woke up at the wrong side of the flower field today." He muttered and didn't bother to check to see if Baldr's hard eyes were back on him again. "You make it sound like there aren't any more of them."

Before Baldr's could reply, if he even been planned to, Gabriel left his spot in the shadows and casually wandered out in the open towards the table, pitying the poor, distraught council members and his blood brother where they were fighting a losing verbal battle against Skaði concerning her dead father. Although, Gabriel suspected she was more upset at the failure to retrieve the apples.

Ah, yes. The golden apples. Iðunn's apples of youth - the source of the asgardians' immortality. A bite made them young and strong and kept them from aging beyond measure. It was no wonder the jötunn's wanted to get their hands on them as well. This little feud they had going on was just silly though. He smiled to himself. Silly, but painfully entertaining. To Gabriel, the apples served no greater purpose, so he didn't really care in whose hands they ended up in as long as he got to have his fun.

Coming up behind Odin, his brother looked up at him as if he was an angel come to save him, greeted him with a thankful whisper of his name ("Loki…") and Gabriel smiled brightly back at him. The rest of the pagans at the table appeared more hesistant of his presence, some of them not even bothering to hide their grimaces of distaste. From Skaði, Gabriel recieved no more than a dirty glare.

"You speak of justice, allfather, yet Loki has committed crimes a thousand times worse and gone unpunished!" She pointed a finger at him, although her eyes had returned to to watch the allfather.

Gabriel said nothing in his defense agains the accusations, only stood confidently by Odin's seat and rested a hand on top of the backrest. Sure enough, his blood brother waved them off.

"You are getting off track, Skaði. Those are matters to be dealt with another time."

The giantess was obviously displeased with this answer, annoyed further by Gabriel's smug smile, but said nothing more on the subject, knowing full too well it was a lost cause.

"As you wish." She lowered her arm. "But I will not leave here before I have what I want, mark my words! I will tear the golden halls of Valhalla apart piece by piece if that is what it takes for you to return my apples!"

"They are not yours." Odin repeated for the thousand time and Gabriel could swear you could hear in his voice how the god's patience was wearing thin.

"In exchange for my father's life, then, which you stole from me." To make a point of her words, Skaði crossed her arms and slumped back down in her seat, the wooden chair creaking under her weight. It was not built to carry such a great creature, but it was no matter. It was apparent that she was not going to move until her demands were met.

One again, Odin was at a loss of what to do. There was nothing more to me said that hadn't already been said and they both knew it. He opened his mouth to protest and restart the same argument the two of them had been having for the past three hours, when Gabriel cut in with his own words.

"What if we gave you something else?"

Everyone turned their heads in surprise and watched Gabriel for a long moment in silence, genuinely shocked at the tricksters baldness before turning back towards the jötunn woman. Her eyes were wide open, taken by surprise like the rest of them, but when all eyes fell on her she quickly found herself and cleared her throat.

"I suppose…"

"We'll give you anything you want. aside from the apples, of course." Eyes were back on him in an instant, disapproving stares, shaking of heads, some silently pleading him to take his words back. They all knew nothing good could come out of this. It's happened so many times before.

Gabriel needn't look to know that Baldr was watching his every move very closely, no doubt trying to see him through and figure out whatever insane plan his uncle was getting at now.

Skaði appeared unfazed by the millions of silent conversations being had all around her, thinking the offer through and considering it carefully. Finally, she slowly nodded her head.

"Yes… there is something you can give me instead." She said. Gabriel should probably have been alarmed by the tone of his voice, but he was far too full of himself to take notice of any potential danger.

"So tell me what you want, what you really, really want, sweetheart."

"A husband." Her voice boomed, only all previous rage was nowhere to be heard. There was… however… something else. "And to laugh like I have never laughed before."

You could practically hear everyone at the table breathe heavy sighs of relief at her strangely simple demands. Odin sunk back into his seat with a smile and Gabriel kept his on triumphantly.

"Very well." It was Odin who broke the silence, now suddenly eager to give her what the giantess what she asked and be done with this. "It shall be done. Who would you take as your husband, Skaði?"

"Baldr."

And it was around that point that Gabriel's smile vanished. From up in the corner he could hear the younger god let out a horrified gasp.

It was Skaði's turn to flash him a smug smile so sickly sweet it could very well have given the whole realm diabetes.

"Well?" The giantess asked impatiently and her eyes drifted towards the pillars, eyeing his nephew up like a piece of meat, tongue darting out to wet her lips. "Am I going to have to fetch him myself?"

It took all of Gabriel's self restraint to hold himself back from launching at her.

Whatever relief Odin had experienced seconds ago was gone with the metaphorical wind, and so was Gabriel's happy mood. The council members were squirming uncomfortably in their seats, desperate to get away as if their lives depended on it (which, knowing Loki, could very well be the case). There was only so much they could deal with in one day.

Baldr's eyes were still on him. Gabriel looked up to meet them, saw anger in them as if the other was cursing him from afar for his stupid idea, but at the same time, a call for help. He was a fair god, young but wise, born for peace rather than a warrior's life. He would not fare well amongst the giants. And as much of a chaos-loving trickster as Gabriel was, he'd be damned before he'd let his friend fall in the clutches of them.

He leant down, whispered in his blood brother's ear, praying he would listen once more. It was a long shot considering how his offer had been turned against them, but surely Odin would not so easily give away one of his beloved sons to someone who had caused Asgard so much trouble…

"Nay." The allfather rose from his seat.

"…Excuse me?" Skaði stared at the allfather in disbelief.

"Nay, you shall not have him." He repeated, looking her dead in the eye without hesitation. Baldr still stood uneasy by the sidelines.

Skaði's face was starting to get flushed again, hands clenching into fists. "You promised I could have anything I wanted—"

Odin raised a hand, efficently silencing her.

"Be at ease - you shall have your husband. But he will be chosen on my terms." He made a point of empathising 'my', altough they both knew that wasn't quite true. A second later he was looking towards Gabriel for advice, and the trickster knew the situation had suddenly turned in his favor again. Now he just had to play his cards right in order to keep it that way.

With permission from Odin this time, Gabriel spoke up again.

"Okay, listen up princess. Here's how it's gonna go down:" He made a sweeping motion with his arm, motioning to the entire room and everyone in it. Anyone who might've been looking to escape from whatever insane idea he was about to share with the class knew in an instant that it was too late.

"You may pick anyone within these walls - man or woman or whatever - to tie the knot with—" The table erupted in a symphony of protests.

("You cant be serious!", "I already have three wives, I can afford another one!", "I never agreed to this!", "Why can't she just take You?!", "My father would kill me…")

Gabriel ignored them all and kept his focus on the jötunn.

Skaði, however, simply frowned and immediataly looked towards Baldr (who had retreated even further into the shadows - knowing better than to tuck his tail between his legs and run but still hoping the darkness would provice some form of protection.), opened her mouth and the young god's name was on the tip of her tongue when she was interrupted for the millionth time. Did Gabriel take satisfaction in her annoyed glares? Not at all.

"Hold your horses an let me finish." He finally acknowledged the very much upset council members. The one closest to him was begging for mercy and earned a pat on the head. "That goes for you guys too."

It still took a while for the chatter to die out enough for Gabriel to continue. The air was still filled with mixed feelings, an anxious and tense silence waiting for him to explain. He was well aware that it pained the other gods that they had to put up with whatever Loki threw at them, but for as long as the allfather let him have the word, they had no choice but to sit back.

Odin leaned in over the table and rested his hands agains it's wooden surface, the man closest to Gabriel's side was shaking, Baldr could no longer be seen but there was no doubt he was still present, and Skaði raised an eyebrow expectantly.

Gabriel began pacing around the table.

"As I said - you can pick any of us, and I swear by my brother's fabulous beard that the one you choose will go without making a fuss. But here's the problem: I'm sure you've noticed we've got quite a few of the big guys in here - Baldr, for one - and apparently, we need them, so we can't just hand them over and let you lovebirds be on your merry way. Naturally, there's only one solution."

He walked up next to Skaði where she was now standing at the opposite end and he came to a stop, hands behind his back and tilting his head back to look up at her. It pained his neck, seeing as she was at least five feet taller than him, and he knew she noticed and enjoyed that fact. It was the only enjoyment he was going to grant her if he could have his way.

Slowly, he sank to his knees, undid the bindings on his stuffed boots while the others watched in confusion. Once undone he stood up once more, taking the boots with him and shoving them into the jötunn's hands after which he promptly climbed up on the table where everyone could see him wiggle his bare toes.

"This—" He began, but now it was his turn to be rudely interrupted.

"I have no time for your silly games, Loki." Skaði growled and threw his dirty boots to the floor in disgust. "What is the meaning of this?"

With a chuckle, Gabriel rolled his eyes and flipped around to fave her. "You may only pick from looking at our feet."

* * *

A good round of hysterical laughter later - unfortunately from most everyone except the giantess herself, who'd continued to growl at him - there they were; Lined up, men and women alike, feet bare and the rest of their bodies hidden behind a think drapery, ensuring seeing through the fabric would be impossible. The couldn't have her trying to cheat, now, could they?

Only his lips still bore a smile, everyone else's laughter already died out and once again replaced with anxiety, displeased frowns and angry glares his way. No words spoken but the message was clear - whoever got picked was going to make sure Gabriel regretted dragging them into this.

Gabriel didn't care. That was not where his concern laid at the moment.

To his left stood Baldr. The younger god was tense and clearly unhappy with the arrangement. There was still a chance Skaði could take him, still a chance he would end up alone in a stranger land married to the woman of his nightmares. Gabriel needn't be able to read his mind to see that Baldr was blaming him for it. Not that he blamed him, considering it was Gabriel who got him into this mess in the first place, and although he was trying to make it right, Baldr was still not in the clear.

He tried to reach out and take his nephew's hand but Baldr pulled away from his touch without a moment's hesitation or even throwing a glance in his direction. He was silent, staring straight ahead into the drapery in front of them and awaiting the moment where his freedim might be taken away from him.

Gabriel's smile faltered and he didn't reach out again.

On the other side of the drapery they could hear heavy footsteps going back and forth, occasionally stopping to observe a pair of feet before moving on, looking them all over and then going back to do it again. And again. Grumbling something to herself ("Too hairy", "Too small", "Too… smelly.") Her indecissiveness was enough to drive anyone insane.

As time minutes passed the council members started squirming on the spot, one even attempting to leave only to be pulled back by the others. One by one they all turned their eyes towards Gabriel while his, as well as Baldr's, remained fixed on the thick fabric in front of their eyes.

The footsteps were coming closer again, and so maybe Gabriel's heart started beating a little faster in his chest when Skaði stopped in front of him. The grumbling, talking to herself was there again, describing his feet out loud and considering their pros and cons carefully. Gabriel, of course, was certain that his feet were flawless, but part of him - a big part - hoped she would not agree.

Thus, as the footsteps stamped off to his right, he gave a sigh of relief…

Then the lightest brush of chilly fingertips wandered over his toes and he could feel the council member's hopeful stares. Gabriel felt like punching them in the face, or mybe just himself for ever thinking of suggesting this. He would be able to talk his way out of it like he always did, however, it would be messy. Very messy. Bloody messy.

A thousand thoughts went through his mind at once— and they all stopped when the fingertips disappeared as quickly as they'd come and Baldr sucked in a sharp breath next to him.

His hand flew out to grab Gabriel's before the drapery was roughly yanked down and the first thing they was was Skaði's triumphant grin spread across her face.

It disappeared in an instant.

"No!" She screamed. "No, no, no, no no! This is wrong!"

"There's no need to be so loud, dear, we can hear you perfectly well." Said Njörðr with a sigh, straightening his back and almost able to match the giantess he stood face to face with in height, barely missing a few inches. He was a tall, muscular man with a scruffy beard and unruly hair stood, still dressed in a fisherman's attire even for a meeting as important as this one. As simple a job as he had, Njörðr was older than Odin himself (and still better looking) and his opinion was valued highly in the council.

Skaði saw none of this however and grabbed a hold of Gabriel who was standing just an arm's lenght away. A jötunn's arm, that is.

"You! You tricked me!" She screamed into his face, lifted him easily off the floor with an angry roar and held him dangling in mid-air where their eyes lined up with each other. Baldr's hand was torn from his grip and the surrounding gods took a few steps back.

Njörðr did nothing to stop his new soon-to-be wife, and neither did anyone else for a long moment. At last, Odin came up to them, watched Gabriel struggle to get loose from her grip for a few seconds longer before placing a hand on the giantess' shoulder.

"Skaði, your decision have been made. You are to wed Njörðr whenever you so wish, and on the day of your joining, you shall have your laughter as well. Now leave."

Skaði glared at him, eyes full of rage, but the allfather's hand was firm and his words all the same.

"Could've been worse." Njörðr pitched in while putting his boots back on. "Could've been Loki."

As if on cue, Gabriel was released and fell to the hard floor with a thud. No hands were extended to help him up, only pleased smirks sent his way as he groaned in pain and pushed himself up. The others were fully content to leave him there, one of them even stepping on his hand on their way past him and out of the hall. Gabriel hissed and muttered a curse on them. They should be grateful to him, the bastards. They were still free and the whole mess about their beloved golden apples was over thanks to him.

By the time he got to his feet, Skaði had already stormed off with Njörðr following closely behind.

"What's the hurry, where's the fire?" He chuckled and turned to Baldr with a smile… or he thought he did. Like the others, the younger god was nowhere to be seen, having left without a word of gratutide. A sudden painful, stinging sensation appeared in Gabriel's chest and a had went up to lay over his heart, but it was not his hand.

His blood brother stood before him obviously relieved to be rid of Skaði for the moment, though with eyes still serious and hard on him. It wasn't over yet.

"Njörðr is an old friend of mine… it pains me to see him go."

Gabriel opened his mouth to reply but ultimately said nothing. He couldn't apologize for something he was not really sorry for. God of lies, yes, but not when faced with his brother's being filled with grief over the loss of a good friend by his side.

"I expect you to fullfill your offering, Loki. Make her laugh, but do not waste any more of my men."

He nodded without a word, and then the hand on his chest was gone, Gabriel left alone in the great hall. His thoughts drifted back to Baldr for a moment… perhaps he should go find him…

No. For now, he was safe and that's all that mattered. Gabriel had new things to worry about.


End file.
